“They have problems with each other and not with Armenia”
Republican MP Gagik Melikyan is surprised that in its annual report Human Rights Watch says international advocacy organizations do not properly pressurize Armenia in issues of democracy.
"These organizations seem to be at variance with each other and not with Armenia, especially given the fact that they hail Armenia's progress in the sphere of human rights protection," Gagik Melikyan told A1+.
According to the Republican MP, the report focuses on some trivial issues. Asked whether he meant revelation of the ten murders of March 1-2, Mr. Melikyan said, "The events of March 1 smeared Armenia's reputation and we should do out utmost to exclude their repetition in the future. Definite measures are being taken in this direction but we still need to disclose the consequences of the deaths."
In reply to A1+'s observation that the Council of Europe Commission for Human Rights recently expressed concern over the situation of human rights sphere, Gagik Melikyan said, "Thomas Hammarberg also noted that there are not political prisoners in Armenia and saluted the decision of Armenian authorities to pardon convicts imprisoned on criminal charges. Eleven of them still remain in prison."
During his Yerevan visit, Hammarberg urged to release them too. Could the CoE official call for the release of criminals?
In reply to A1+, the Republican representative said, "The Council of Europe Commissioner still needs to carry out a serious study to understand whether they are real criminals or whether the arrest is politically motivated."
